Love the Fall
by Tales from a Teacup
Summary: Veronica and Eric were old friends back in their childhood in Erudite. They thought they weren't going to see each other until they were both selected for one of the confidantes for the Serum Project. Now they both have to hide their feelings for one another from themselves and their faction in order to not jeopardize notonly themselves but also their loyalties to Jeanine Matthews.
1. Old Friend

Veronica brushed her blonde hair back and rolled it up into a bun. She struggled a bit but after a while she snapped her hair into place. She gave herself a small smile as she slightly patted down her blue dress as she tried to find any hints of unprofessionalism in them. Veronica heard a knock on her door causing her to turn around and walk out of her bathroom in her apartment. She hurried along, hoping to not keep the person waiting at the door too long before opening it up. Veronica straightened up a little bit taller when she noticed that Jeanine Matthews was waiting at her door with her usual iPad in her hands.

"Good morning, Mother" Veronica greeted.

"Hello, Veronica" Jeanine gave a slight smile as she walked into her apartment, "Are you almost ready?"

"One moment" Veronica hurried back over to her room, "I just need my coat, heels, and template"

"Just like your father" Jeanine mumbled as Veronica found it humbling and funny as her mother still refers to her father even after this death.

Together, the Matthews women made their way over to the conference room. Veronica occasionally looked over to her mother as guidance as to how she should perceive herself. She tilted up her head higher and pressed herself forward and even did the same nod to a couple of Erudite's as they greeted both the faction leader and her daughter. Seven months ago, Jeanine offered to the council if she could have her daughter as her own personal assistant as her last one, Kate's, IQ scores dwindled significantly and Veronica's had approached the bar and had reached the level to join as one of the heads of faction. Veronica was almost surprised when they all accepted, but to be honest, she felt like they were all scared of her mother's intelligence.

"Why am I coming along to this?" Veronica question in the elevator.

"The serum's haven't been working right ever since I put those scientists to work on it" Jeanine rolled her eyes, "You're the only one I know who has the acumen for these types of projects"

"I'm glad you trust me for this task" Veronica replied back as the elevator dinged.

Veronica turned and walked out of the room only to stop dead in her tracks as she noticed a tall, strong, and intimidating man standing in front of her. His hair was slightly gelled back with two piercings above his eyebrow and two black gauges in each ear with a black tattoo over his neck above his carotid artery. Jeanine Matthews already was greeting the other Dauntless member, Max, she believes his name was. Veronica couldn't help but notice how these two leaders not see that their representatives were practically having a staredown with one another.

"Rikki" Eric finally greeted.

"I don't go by that nickname anymore" Veronica straightened herself up, "It's childish"

"Since when have I ever stopped calling you that name upon your request?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Almost never. We're 24 years old now" Veronica reminded him.

Veronica glanced over as she noticed that one of the researchers was approaching her mother, even though Jeanine looked peeved, she didn't wave Veronica over or push the man away. She let out a huff as she wished that she did. Veronica hasn't even seen Eric ever since the Choosing Ceremony.

"And there's an age limit on nicknames?" Eric continued.

"You transferred from your home faction" Veronica narrowed her eyes, "Don't the Dauntless say that they're known as traitors?"

"Are you trying to insult me?" Eric questioned, "You were one of the first people that I talked to about transferring. I remember you saying something along the lines of 'Go and do what makes you happy'"

"I remember. I just thought that you were going to pick Amity instead" Veronica mumbled.

Eric let out a laugh that echoed in the room, "You can't be serious"

"I wasn't… but seeing you pick up after cow manure would've been life-fulfilling for me" Veronica smiled up to him, "Not everyone gets what they want in the end"

Eric had an amused smile spread over his face as he reached out and gave Veronica a small grip on her arm. She slightly flinched as she realized how strong her old friend became in close to eight years of being apart.

"I forgot how fun you were, Rikki" Eric smiled, "You kept things interesting in Erudite"

"I missed you too, Eric" Veronica replied back truthfully.

Jeanine walked over to the two younger children and glanced between them.

"Shall we get started then?" Jeanine questioned.

"Yes, mother. Whenever you're ready" Veronica quickly told her mother.

Her mother gave a slight nod as she turned around and walked with Max over to the direction of the labs. Jeanine didn't really like hearing about Erudite transfers in general, but ever since Eric had been chosen as one of the leaders, she nearly couldn't shut up about him. Jeanine liked to believe that it was his Erudite upbringings that made him assume that position. Now walking beside him, Veronica could barely even see her old friend in him anymore. She remembered Eric being a slightly big guy but he turned those arms into muscles of steel in the time that he's been in Dauntless. It was no wonder that people in his faction are intimidated by both his intelligence and his physical appearance.

"Kiss ass" Eric mumbled.

"What?" Veronica questioned, "We were waiting for them"

"Whenever you are" Eric mimicked in a high voice, "What happened to the little girl who teased about Kate all these years? Now you're beginning to sound like them'"

"Things have changed, Eric. This isn't the same faction that you left" Veronica mumbled.

"But are you the same girl?" Eric asked.

"I guess you will never know" Veronica turned and looked at him, "You left... not me"


	2. Choosing Ceremony

"That's why the serums haven't been working as everyone hoped they would" Veronica stated.

"Impressive. Very smart daughter you have there, Jeanine" Max complimented, "Not even 35 minutes in this room and you already figured out a solution"

"I wonder why no one else thought of that" Jeanine looked over to the head scientist.

The woman cleared her throat, "Because we thought the serum would work faster through IV"

"And how am I going to get a whole Dauntless faction to submit to an IV?" Jeanine argued.

As much as Veronica felt bad for making the scientist look like a student, she felt happy that her mother was seeing her side of the simulation. She glanced down to her template of the syringe with the huge needle. It looked just like the simulation syringes so no one would question it too much. Veronica turned around and was placing everything back into her blue bag. She almost felt a sense of accomplishment as she knew that this will make her head of the project. Also another way to make her mother proud.

"Very impressive" a voice came from right next to her.

"Thanks. Told you I'm a lot smarter than I look" Veronica looked up and smiled, "The Choosing Ceremony is tomorrow, are you attending?"

"I'm going to be greeting the Dauntless initiates on the rooftop" Eric told her.

Veronica scrunched up her face, "The rooftop?"

"Dauntless tradition" Eric shrugged.

Veronica slowly nodded like as if she knew what Eric had just stated. She couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed that she won't be seeing him tomorrow as a leader in action. She quickly pushed that aside as she thought that it was only because Eric was her friend for more than she could remember and that's why she was feeling like this. Veronica cleared her throat as she picked up her bag as she noticed that her mother was getting ready to leave. She quickly stuck out her hand to Eric as he looked at it as if there were feces on it.

"Pleasure seeing you again, Eric" Veronica said in a formal manner.

"You do realize that this isn't goodbye. We'll be seeing more of each other, Rikki" Eric pointed out, "So I'm not shaking your hand until the final good bye"

"Do you always have to have your way about things?" Rikki rolled her eyes.

Eric smirked, "Something's just never change"

"Apparently not" Veronica grumbled as she dropped her hand down to the side.

* * *

Jeanine smiled, "Choosing Day. This day gives me the most excitement, I must say"

"I don't know, I still get chills over this day. I still feel like I'm supposed to go up and slice my palm again. I don't think I'll ever get used to being in the room" Veronica glanced back to the five bowls.

"Don't be ridiculous" Jeanine scoffed.

"How long did it take for you to get used to this room?" Veronica questioned.

"Veronica, that is in the past" Jeanine scolded, "We must look towards the future"

"Yes, mother, you are correct" Veronica nodded.

"Good morning, Jeanine"

"Good morning, Andrew"

"How is Marcus holding up?"

"As well as can be expected"

Veronica pulled in a deep inhale of breath as she noticed the family of four that stopped in front of her mother. She knew that Jeanine was going to stay there for a while just because she knows Andrew and wants to get the upperhand of the conversation in any Abnegation member. Veronica glanced over to the two children and noticed the boy was instantly grinning from ear to ear the second he saw Jeanine. The girl couldn't help but pull down her sleeves and glance back over to the five bowls. Veronica could practically see the girl's jugular veins popping out of her neck as she seemed to just couldn't sit still. The Abnegation girl looked over and locked eyes with Veronica for a split second before Veronica looked back to her mother's pale blonde hair.

Her mother turned her focus onto the children as Veronica looked around the room. She didn't realize what she was looking for until she noticed that her main focus was both on the stage and the Dauntless section. Veronica turned back to the conversation that was happening in front of her as she bit the inside of her cheek. She knew Eric wasn't going to be there, he said so himself. Still she couldn't help but not think about how much her old friend has changed.

"This is Beatrice" Caleb introduced his sister.

"Well, you both have a big decision to make today" Jeanine commented before reaching behind her and grabbing onto Veronica's hand, "I'm sure your parents will support whatever choice you make just as I did with my own daughter, Veronica"

"That's not supposed to be a choice" Beatrice stated, "The test should tell us what to do"

"You're still free to choose" Jeanine said in a flat voice.

Veronica knew that tone of voice in her mother as she slowly slipped her hand out of her mother's grip. Beatrice seemed to have no control over her mouth as she kept on having a statement for whatever Jeanine threw at her. Veronica couldn't help but feel surprised if this Beatrice would stick with staying in Abnegation. She also but couldn't help but have a small suppressed smile for how her mother was being talked back to by a 16 year old child.

"Not because you wish you were someone you're not" Jeanine said that caught her daughter's attention, "But because you honestly know yourself"


	3. Transfers

"This way, Miss Matthews" an Erudite woman led Veronica over to the center of the aisle, "Enjoy!"

"I'm sure I will" Veronica sighed as she continued to talk to herself, "As I do every year"

"I heard Alison's younger sister is choosing today" a female said behind her, "She's not as resourceful as the rest of her family"

Veronica rolled her eyes as she made herself comfortable in her chair. She watched as her mother shook hands with the other faction leaders, acting like as if she was pleasant to see them all again. She knew that her mother was already counting down the seconds until she can introduce the Choosing Ceremony. Veronica sighed as she looked around to the people all conversing around her, no one even thinking about talking to her. Ever since she reached the IQ level to become one of the representative leaders slowly her circle of friends dwindled to nothing. Even when she walked down the hall in the labs where she used to work her friends would keep their head down and avoid eye contact.

She blinked back in surprise when she noticed that everyone around her started to applause as the leaders dispersed and went to their factions, all except Jeanine and Marcus. Jeanine gave a dry smile to everyone and nodded at their appreciation. Veronica couldn't help but wonder if the same exact thing that is happening to Veronica happened to her mother. She didn't really know who she talked with in her social life, all she knew was that it was her father until he died. Now it only seemed like Jeanine talked about nothing but work, even to her own daughter.

"The faction system is a living being composed of cells, all of you" Jeanine began, "And the only way it can survive and thrive is for each of you to claim your rightful place. The future belongs to those who know where they belong"

Jeanine nodded over to Marcus who slowly walked up to the stage and made her way over to Veronica. She straightened up as her mother came across and sat down next to Veronica and just took a glance over to her. Veronica did her best to smile and nod as she pretended to pay attention to Marcus Eaton with his own speech. But just like the Abnegation, Veronica immediately got bored and felt like she was zoning off to sleep.

"Good speech, nice and short" Veronica whispered to her mother.

"Leaves more time for choosing" Jeanine replied back.

"With that being said" Marcus Eaton ended, "Faction before blood"

"Faction before blood" Veronica repeated.

Veronica watched as the Abnegation leader called up the first name who was an Erudite boy who quickly cut his hand and dropped it into the water. Veronica smiled as she knew that this boy wanted to stay in his faction. She glanced over to her mother who turned and gave a smile to Veronica as they both remembered when Veronica dripped her blood into the Erudite water.

A gasp filled the air as Veronica noticed that a Candor boy dropped his blood into the Amity soil. A traitor to his born faction and an embarrassment to his family.

"Isn't that a shame" Jeanine mumbled, "Poor parents"

"Candor life seems difficult" Veronica mentioned, "They do have to be strictly honest with each other"

"Don't stand up for him" Jeanine nodded her head to the boy, "He's choosing to never belong to his family. That's very brave for someone like him. But how long do you think that line will last if his children come to their Choosing Ceremony"

"Then why did you say all of those things to the Abnegation children?" Veronica whispered.

"Oh, I knew Andrew since before he worked as a representative" Jeanine waved off.

"You were doing that to get under his skin?" Veronica questioned.

"Abnegation secretly fear that their children will be selfish enough to choose their own paths on Choosing Day" Jeanine explained before she straightened up, "Here's his son now"

Together, they watched as Caleb Prior cut his hand and looked at the five bowls, contemplating on his path before sticking out his hand as Marcus read, "Erudite"

"What?" Veronica breathed out.

"Now that is something that I did not foresee" Jeanine said with a little bounce to her voice.

"Looks like you did more than just move him" Veronica whispered, "An Abnegation transfer. Very rare for a person to choose the rival factor's lifestyle. But will he survive?"

"Let's keep an eye on him" Jeanine mentioned.

"As you wish" Veronica nodded.

Once the Choosing Ceremony was finished, Jeanine and Veronica made their way out into the hallway and went over to the nearest elevator. Jeanine typed in a code that only the leaders and their representatives knew as the rest of the faction and transfers went to the farthest elevator or risked taking the flight of stairs. Jeanine seemed to have a wider smile then she once had earlier today. Veronica knew that her mother was playing back in her mind how both of the Prior children had chosen different factions. Caleb was in Erudite and Beatrice was in Dauntless. Veronica wondered if Marcus Eaton would've had that same smug look on his face if Veronica had chosen a different faction.

"Let's greet the transfers" Jeanine suggested once the elevator doors opened.

"Now?" Veronica questioned.

"Why not?" Jeanine smiled.

"We usually greet them as a whole during dinner" Veronica reminded, "Can't this wait?"

Jeanine only glanced over her shoulder and gave her daughter that square look. Veronica bit down onto her tongue and nodded. Jeanine turned back and called to the instructor, making him stop and turn his attention towards her. Veronica scanned the crowd of transfers and noticed four transfers from both Candor and Amity, no Dauntless transfers and only one Abnegation transfer. Jeanine smiled as she stood in front of them as Veronica hung a few spaces back.

"Hello, everyone" Jeanine began.

"Hello" came the mumbled back responses.

"I am Jeanine Matthews and this is my daughter Veronica" she started, "We just wanted to stop by and say hello to our new transfers"

"That's very compassionate of you" the man smiled.

"We are also hoping to bring a couple of you into the office and just to have a little conversation with you all, if you need any help with your studies, be sure to come to any one of the instructors or even Veronica or myself" Jeanine mentioned, "We would be glad to help"

"Thank you" an Amity girl smiled in the crowd.

Jeanine nodded to her, "I wish you all the best of luck. Don't be afraid to come by just to have a chat anytime. We are always interested in our Erudite transfers just as much as our Erudite-borns. I shall be taking my leave now"

"Great speaking with you, Miss Matthews" the Erudite instructor shook hands with Veronica's mother.

Veronica turned on her heels, "We're interested in them? I thought you said to be weary of them"

"For now, no" Jeanine changed her mind.

"Does this had anything to do with that Abnegation boy?" Veronica asked, "He seemed very pleased with you. I don't think he's stopped smiling since he first was introduced to you"

"Good" Jeanine commented.

"It will get under Mr. Prior's skin even more. To know his only son is having quality time with the leader of his rival faction. Wouldn't that be disappointing" Veronica turned and exchanged a smile with her mother.


	4. Cold

"Ladies" Max greeted the next morning, "Welcome to the Dauntless Compound. The home of the warriors. Shall we give you a tour?"

"That will raise suspicion" Jeanine commented, "Just show us to the control room you made for us"

"As you wish" Max nodded as he led the small group of Erudites.

"Good morning, Rikki" Eric's voice suddenly came from behind Veronica.

"It's Veronica" she rolled her eyes.

"And I don't get a good morning back?" Eric ignored.

"Good morning, Eric" Veronica mumbled as the pair took to the back of the group.

"Still have to be told what to do?" Eric teased.

She glared up at him, "Still think it's funny to criticize people? You were always a bully"

"Now I'm a bully that can throw knives" Eric said in a low voice that made shivers travel up and down her spine.

"And I'm the genius that knows how to activate the serum" Veronica taunted back.

"I guess we would make a great team" Eric mentioned.

"Or interesting enemies" Veronica finished.

"I don't think it will be likely that we will be enemies" Eric scoffed.

"Really?" Veronica noticed that the hallway was getting darker and darker by the second, "Why?"

"Because I would never let that happen between us" Eric then placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her closer to him, "Watch your step, Rikki"

"What?" Veronica looked down and noticed that she was seconds away from tripping over a rock.

"Don't want to injure yourself here" Eric continued, "Rita will be up my ass questioning me about what an Erudite was doing here"

"Who's Rita?" she asked.

"The Head Nurse here in Dauntless" Eric mumbled, "She transferred the same year as me from Erudite and doesn't take too kindly of our old faction. You remember her. Her name was Mary before she transferred"

"Mary?" Veronica looked up to Eric in surprise, "But she loved being in Erudite"

"Some people may say one thing but feel differently inside" Eric told her, "Maybe she wanted out just as much as everyone does when they choose a different faction"

"Do you sometimes wish you were back in Erudite?" Veronica had to ask.

Eric stayed quiet, making Veronica wonder if he heard her question until he stated, "I was a struggling student that had to get tutored by my friend in order to get above a 75% back in Erudite. Now, I'm the youngest Dauntless Leader here in my new life and people don't give shit to me because of my level of power. Which lifestyle would you choose if it was your turn to pick?"

"I see" Veronica nodded as she continued to walk.

"Doesn't mean that I miss some of the times I had in Erudite when I _wasn't_ studying" Eric bent down to whisper into her ear before he moved away from her.

Veronica walked into a room that nearly blinded her with all of the bright lights shining down in the otherwise dark compound. It almost felt like she was back in Erudite at how bright the lab usually is. Once her eyes adjusted, she took a look around the room and was pretty amazed at what she saw. There were multiple screens filled with cameras both in Abnegation and Dauntless headquarters along with a small lab on the side. Veronica slowly walked up to one of the screens and typed on one and was amazed at how up to date it was. She didn't really think that the adrenaline junkies would ever have even half a brain to know how to set up a computer lab.

"I'm impressed" Jeanine commented.

"Thank you" Max nodded, "Eric mostly set up this part of the room for you guys"

Veronica's eyebrows furrowed as she turned from the screen and looked over to Eric. _Eric did all of this?_ The man just set his jaw and glanced over to the other Erudites who were whispering amongst themselves. Once they noticed that Eric was staring straight at them, they stopped and dispersed around the lab. Veronica couldn't help but smile at how intimidated her faction was compared to him.

Veronica spoke up, "Well, done"

"I guess something stuck with him while he was at your facility" Max continued.

She noticed that Eric's jaw twitched slightly as she knew that it meant that something bothered him. Was it that Max mentioned his old faction? Eric glanced over to Veronica who was still staring at him. He gave her a cold look before turning his body so that she couldn't read his face.

"And what about the cameras? Can your control room see us?" Jeanine questioned.

"No" Max told her.

"We double checked and disabled those cameras" Eric pointed to the screen, "If someone resets them and it is controlled by the control room once more than these screens will black out"

"Excellent" Jeanine smiled, "I'm impressed with your status of education. It makes me wonder what kind of potential you would've been in Erudite"

Eric shrugged, "I guess we'll never find out. I never really liked living the boring life anyways"

This time Jeanine's face contorted as the two stared at each other for quite sometime. The tension easily filled the room that it almost felt like Veronica was in Candor. She then quickly cleared her throat as she walked to the center of the room.

Veronica typed in her code and immediately brought up the screen of the serum and connected it to the screen. Her blueprint flashed up on the big screen as she turned to her audience of blue Erudite's and black Dauntless clothing.

She noticed that Eric crossed his arms over his chest and Jeanine had placed her hands on her hips, in both of their signs that meant anger.

"Ready to begin?" Veronica asked.

The two didn't say anything as the group came closer to the screen. Veronica was supposed to talk about how to make the serum that she believed would be able to work on everyone in Dauntless. She had to completely throw out the old serum that the other scientist was working on because it was deemed nearly impossible to try to use it on the cerebral fluid. She only had time to work up a concept map of what the serum would be infused with and had only one copy with her. She took it out of her pocket and held it up high for everyone around her to see. Jeanine blinked as she stepped forward and took it out of her daughter's hand.

She gawked at the material with a small smile on her face. Jeanine reached out and pet Veronica on the arm, making Veronica smile back to her mother. Her mother only seemed to give her affection if it only concerned knowledge and success. It felt like she had really made her mother proud of her this time. Veronica hid the smile as her mother handed back the serum to her.

Jeanine smiled, "Does it work?"

"I believe it does" Veronica stated.

"Believe? Are you telling me you never tested this?" Jeanine raised an eyebrow.

Veronica knew this part of her mother always comes out one way or another. After she came back from the Choosing Ceremony, Veronica went back to the lab and continued to test on her serum. She went through two test serums before she had found out that this one would work. Although, her guinea pig didn't really like it so much.

"I tested it alright… but I don't believe that Dr. Jim is too happy about it" Veronica replied back.

"Dr. Jim?" Jeanine asked.

It then suddenly dawned on Jeanine as she smiled and let out a small laugh. This is usually a rare occasion for the head of the faction of Erudite. Even for Veronica, it was a rare moment to see her mother laugh.

"You remember him, don't you?" Veronica turned to Max and Eric, "The scientist who tried to put the serum in an IV"

Eric was the first to laugh as he brought his hands together and clapped a thunderous clap. Max lifted up his head and then slowly shook it.

"I'm not so sure he enjoyed being your little ass monkey" Max let out.

"I wouldn't want to remind him anytime soon" Veronica smiled.

"Then it's settled" Jeanine waved at her group, "Let's get started. Tell us what to do"

"I only have enough to make 18 serums" Veronica told her mother.

"Then that is how much we'll make today here" Jeanine concluded, "Then we'll have the labs at home make them there also"


	5. Leadership

"Let's stop for now" Jeanine announced.

Veronica sighed as she placed her glasses down onto the keyboard and stretched out in her chair. She brought her fingers to the corners of her eyes and massaged them as her back started to give an aching feeling. All around her, the other Erudite's were getting up and starting to pack up. They were used to feeling this drained and still have the energy to move their belongings out of the way. Veronica was still getting used to being strained to this amount of energy needed in her. She was very glad that her mother drove them to the compound otherwise, she would've fallen asleep behind the wheel.

Veronica slowly got up and started to pack up the belongings that she took with her over to this new-found lab. Granted, she wasn't as fast as the other Erudite's and her mother would surely love to scold her in front of all of them but luckily for Veronica, she was occupied in a conversation with another Erudite. She stifled a yawn as all she wanted to do was go back into her room, kick off her heels, and fall asleep on her bed. Veronica turned and slammed into a black wall, dropped her template. She gasped but didn't hear it fall to the ground as the barrier had moved quickly and caught her template before it hit the ground.

"Still are a clutz" Eric remarked.

"Stop doing that! I hate it whenever you sneak up on me" Veronica shoved Eric but she only managed to push herself back into her desk, "What are you doing here anyways? I thought that you had to train the initiates today?"

"We're done for the day" Eric told her.

"So what are you doing back?" Veronica asked.

"Max told me to see you guys leave the compound" Eric informed her, "Also to make sure that no one takes anything from the lab that isn't yours"

"Like we would take anything from Dauntless" Veronica rolled her eyes.

Eric smirked, "Just following orders. Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"I have to give a class on how to make and control the serum at the labs" Veronica told him.

"Well, wouldn't that be interesting" Eric said with a hint of disappointment in his voice, "I'm sure you will have a fun time"

"Not really" Veronica sighed as she glanced over to her mother, "Just following orders also. Especially when everyone in the tower is intimidated by you. They give me the look that I can explode their heads with just a thought. It gets lonely being one of the representatives"

"I know the feeling" Eric responded.

"Sorry! I shouldn't be babbling about how sad my life is now" Veronica let out a small laugh.

Veronica felt something rough grab onto her hand making her look down to see Eric's hand squeezing hers. She didn't realize how rough his hands would be as he gently traced a thumb over the top of her hand. She could see little white lines of scars on his knuckles and wondered how he got them. Eric took his hand out of hers and placed it into his jacket pocket making Veronica look back up to him and stare into his grey eyes.

"You guys need to leave" Eric nodded towards the door, "Dinner is almost over and the other Dauntless will start to wonder around. They will spot your cars driving off. Don't want to blow your cover on the first day. All of this will be for nothing"

"Right. We'll be leaving I guess" Veronica reached out her hand.

"I told you I'm not shaking your hand, Rikki" Eric said with an annoyed tone displayed on his voice.

"My template is still in your hand" Veronica raised her eyebrow.

"What?" Eric glanced down.

"Can I have it back, please?" Veronica questioned.

Eric quickly moved the template forward and slammed it into Veronica's stomach. She couldn't help but give out a little giggle at how embarrassed he was of holding that thing. She glanced back over to her mother and noticed she was done talking to the Erudite's and was waiting for her.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon, Eric" Veronica whispered before she quickly walked over to her mother, feeling Eric's eyes on her the whole time.

* * *

"They're ready for you. Why are you still here, Veronica?" Her mother questioned her the next day, "We don't have any time left to waste standing around in our apartments"

"I'm no teacher" Veronica mumbled, "I don't know how to make people listen to me"

Jeanine sighed and took a step toward her daughter, "They will listen to you because you have the higher power over them"

"I'm only 24 years old and nearly half of the elite lab is 48 and older" Veronica sighed.

"If they are truly Erudite's then they will remember that our leadership comes from knowledge and not by age. You shouldn't pity yourself on their misfortunes, Veronica" Jeanine told her.

"I'm not" Veronica slowly straightened herself up.

"Good" Jeanine said with a hint of a smile.

"We're only doing this to investigate whether or not the Abnegation are keeping the food for themselves, right?" Veronica asked.

Veronica glanced over to her mother who gave off an annoyed look and rolled her eyes. Even though this serum is to go to the Abnegation and investigate, her mother couldn't help but always roll her eyes whenever she hears about the grey-clothed Stiffs.

"Of course, it is" Jeanine said sharply.

"Okay" Veronica nodded.

"You think that I would lie to you?" Jeanine questioned.

"Of course not!" Veronica quickly stated.

"I would lie to my council at any given moment, Veronica, but not to my own daughter" Jeanine told her.

Jeanine reached out and placed a hand on Veronica's, making her daughter look to her and smile as she felt her suspicions wash away.

"I love you, mother" Veronica said.


	6. Complication

"Miss Veronica. May I have a moment of your time?" a female voice broke her train of thought. "I think we may be experiencing some type of problem"

"Problem?" Veronica turned to her, "What kind of problem? Is it the serum or the engineering? Hayes is supposed to be answering questions before people consult with me about them. Whatever questions you have must be asked to him first"

"I did" the nervous woman stated.

"Then what happened?" Veronica questioned, "I went through what the simulation should look like"

"I did everything you stated" she quickly said, "I did every chemical that you said to mix and I wanted to try it out. It just didn't work on my subject"

Veronica's eyebrows furrowed together as she placed her folder down onto the counter and followed the mid-aged woman over to her station. She waved her hand over to her subject to show a 35 year old male sitting there doing nothing. Veronica placed her glasses on and peered at the screen and noticed that the male was supposed to be walking over to the break room to make a cup of chamomile tea. She sighed and deleted the program and placed a serum into the gun herself and went over to the volunteer. Veronica smiled kindly at the man before she drove the needle into his neck and injected him with it. She went back over to the desk and typed in a simulation to make him fall asleep and watched as the man didn't even nod his head or even look remotely tired.

"Interesting" Veronica mumbled.

"It must be my mistake" the woman sighed, "I didn't think it would come so soon. I must return home and tell my husband that I am factionless now. I can't even conduct a perfect serum anymore. It was so simple yesterday and now look at what happened. I will-"

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet" Veronica stopped her.

Veronica picked up another serum that the woman had made and surveyed the room for another guinea pig. Together, the women walked over to one where the man wasn't using his volunteer. Veronica tucked back her hair and injected the serum into her neck and then led the woman back over to the station. She typed in another sim where the woman will giggle and twirl like a ballerina. Veronica had barely hit the enter code when the woman did a twirl and giggled like a little child in a play.

"How can that be?" the woman asked.

"I think I may know" Veronica said in a weary voice.

Veronica glanced over to the volunteer that was still waiting for his simulation to start. Panic almost seized her as she thought of this man as a ticking time bomb. She knew exactly what he was. Yet, this man seemed to be unaware of what he may be.

"So the serum works?" the woman asked hopefully.

"Yes" Veronica whispered, "Excuse me"

Veronica quickly left the station and walked all the way over to the other side of the lab. She gently grabbed a hold of Hayes.

The man excused himself as he walked over Veronica into a corner.

"Miss Matthews?" Hayes asked.

"Contact my mother" Veronica whispered.

"Why?" Hayes questioned, "What's wrong?"

"I think I found a Divergent" Veronica glanced back over to the man, "I'm not too sure it is but the simulation doesn't seem to work with him. I'd rather have my mother here conducting the test"

"Agreed" Hayes nodded, "Keep him occupied, I will get your mother here"

Later that night, Veronica was in her condo looking through the files for her simulation and tried to oversee what was happening to her serum. She noticed that there were at least 6 other incidences where the serum didn't work on the people. It made her surprised that that many people slipped through without being detected. A screen suddenly appeared inviting to be in some sort of chat with Veronica. She squinted at the screen and then recognized the serial number that wanted access to talk to her. She immediately accepted the response and a box showed up with the message.

" _What happened at Erudite?"_ It was Eric.

" _Everything will be under control"_ Veronica stopped and bit her lip, " _How do you have access to the computers at Dauntless?"_

" _Dauntless Leader ring a bell?"_ came the response of Eric making Veronica smile at his comment.

Veronica typed, " _I figured it was something like that. Everything is fine over here. How did you know that there was an incident here? I only told Hayes to tell my mother. It was supposed to be strictly confidential"_

There was a long silence on the other end and Veronica's fingers curled as she wondered if she said anything wrong before Eric typed in, " _Can we meet tomorrow?"_

" _Why?"_ Veronica asked, " _I have the serum to work on"_

" _It's Visiting Day tomorrow, the Simulation Project is on hold"_ Eric reminded her, " _Come on! I thought that you were alway curious on how the other factions lived, why not start with Dauntless?"_

Veronica sighed as she wondered what she should say and without thinking she said, " _I have to log off now… See you tomorrow"_


	7. Ready to Fly

Veronica stood amongst a mixed group of people that seemed like they didn't belong there. Other Erudites were softly talking to one another as people tried their best to not look at the chaos all around them. She glanced around as she noticed that most people were in dark clothing, neon colored hair, tattoos, and piercings all throughout their body. There was a wave of silence for a moment making Veronica look up and notice that Eric entered the room, she noticed why people stopped and stared at him for a good five seconds, in his natural habitat he looked intimidating. His eyes scanned the room until they met with Veronica's, making her slightly glance down to her blue dress and wondered if she wore the appropriate attire. When she looked up, Eric had already crossed the room and was standing in front of her.

"You came" Eric said.

"I told you I would come" Veronica slightly squinted her eyes, "Why wouldn't I come?"

"Let's give you the tour I promised you then" Eric moved his body sideways and stretched out his hand.

"Thank you" Veronica smiled.

She couldn't help but notice that Eric was a lot quieter than usual as he led her down dark hallways. The lights around the wall didn't do much as she constantly found herself tripping over wires and uneven pavements. Eric showed her where the fascinating place where the Pit was where she saw people dancing, fighting, and some were already drinking. At one point, Eric showed her the Chasm, the roar of the water made Veronica want to peek over the edge to see the bottom but Eric wrapped his arm around her waist and switched places with her so he was on the edge. She couldn't deny the fact that his strong arms around her sent fire through her veins.

The last place that Eric showed her was the Dining Hall. It was crowded with people of different factions looking awkward together as Veronica felt. She picked up her hamburger with just her fingertips, not used to eating food with just her hands as Eric seemed to wolf his down across from her. Veronica couldn't help but noticed that even though the rooms would go quiet whenever Eric entered, no one bothered to come anywhere near him, it almost felt like how her life was like back in Erudite Headquarters.

Eric began, "So there you have it. The Dauntless way of living. How did you like it so far? Still think we're adrenaline junkies?"

"Of course I still do" Veronica told him, "I had a heart attack when that little six year old jumped down a whole story and his mother let him"

Eric was about to laugh but quickly cleared his throat and pretended that her words didn't effect him. Veronica glanced around and nearly noticed that half of the Dining Hall was interested in what they were doing. She then realized that Eric didn't want to sacrifice his behavior with her to make him look like he was a complete softie.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Veronica whispered, "People are staring"

"There is one place we can go" Eric wiped his hands on his black pants, "I never showed you my apartment"

"Anywhere but here is fine with me" Veronica started to get up.

"Follow me" Eric instructed.

"I don't know how you do it" Veronica sighed as he led the way, "My eyes are already tired from straining them for so long. I don't even know how many times I have tripped over uneven floors since I came here! It's so different from being in Erudite"

Eric let a low laugh escape his throat as he unlocked a black door and led her into a room so big that she was sure it was as big as the lab back felt hands on her shoulders and noticed that Eric was dragging her jacket off from her in which she lifted up her arms and let him take it off of her.

"It's home to me now" Eric said as he closed the door.

"You must love it here" Veronica said as she felt an ache in her chest, "Being a Dauntless Leader and well respected seems like a title that you've wanted so much. I'm happy for you"

"There are a few things that I've wanted that slipped past me" Eric commented.

"Really?" Veronica looked at him, "What was it?"

Eric slowly walked over to her until his body cast out the sunlight that was coming in through the windows behind him, "Take a wild guess"

"You could've stayed" Veronica said breathlessly, "I could've helped you. Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? You didn't let me have a chance to say good-bye"

Eric sighed and his breath warms Veronica's face, "Because I couldn't bear seeing you sad to see me leave"

"So you knew you were going to leave" Veronica said.

"It was at the last minute" Eric told her, "The only thing I regret about my decision to leave was that I also had to leave you behind as well"

"And once again you were thinking about yourself" Veronica rolled her eyes, "I knew you weren't happy there but you could've told me your idea of transferring before I made my own decision"

"That's why I didn't tell you" Eric shook his head, "Your mother would've made sure to make you factionless then to pass any of the initiation of the other four factions. I wanted to make sure that you knew that as well. I wanted you to choose Erudite to make your mother happy"

Veronica shook her head with tears in her eyes, "Even when it meant to never be near you again?"

Longing sits behind his eyes as he let his callused fingers run across her cheek before he brother his lips down to hers in a kiss, the start of something that would destroy them both if anyone found out about this exchange.


	8. Forbidden

Veronica pulled off Eric's jacket and it's weight made it slam to the floor. Eric didn't hesitate or didn't seem shocked by her action as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She can feel him deepening the kiss as his tongue slid into her mouth making her moan out a response. She felt like she was on fire now from the heat radiating from her boy, she knew that this was wrong but she didn't want to stop. Veronica had her mother's look of disgust written in the back of her mind but she couldn't see her now, all she could feel was the desire she had for Eric for the longest time. Veronica grabbed onto his waist and pulled her closer to him as she lightly bit his bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut.

Eric's hands went to the back of her neck as Veronica noticed that her dress was getting looser and looser as Eric unzipped her blue dress. He brought his hands to her shoulders again and had the dress slip off of her and collapse around her ankles. She gasped slightly as she was aware that she was in nothing but a bra, panties, and heels. Eric stopped slightly as he gazed into her eyes looking for any sign of uncertainty. He didn't want to lose Veronica to a foolish act and have her avoid him forever.

Instead, Veronica pulled on the bottom of his black shirt and lifted it up over her head where Eric started to pull off his shirt as her hands trailed down his sides. She couldn't help but notice his body was covered in muscles that were protruding from his skin. Eric let his shirt drop down to the pile of clothes around him before he worked to snap off her bra. He then picked her up and walked over and sat her down on top of a desk nearly across the room.

With one big wave of his hand, Eric threw all of the papers onto the floor and everything that was piling up on the desk. He placed her on top of the desk and cupped her face and kissed her roughly. Veronica was pretty sure that by now Eric could feel how much she was blushing right now.

When he entered inside of her, the pressure was unexpected that Veronica closed her eyes and her mouth was left open. She refused to make a sound from the pain because she didn't want to give away to Eric that she was still a virgin.

Eric slowly eased out and brought himself back in as he placed his hand around her leg.

Veronica let out a moan as she wrapped her legs around his waist as he continued to work inside of her. Her hands traced down his smooth back as she gasped each time he moved deeper into her. She could feel Eric's breath against her ear as he let out a grunt. She whispered his name out to her which she believed caused Eric to hold her tighter and bury his face into the crook of her neck. Veronica gasped when she felt him bite into her neck as his pumping went harder and faster. She didn't want him to stop, the feeling made her feel weightless.

He gripped onto her leg and started to moan out her name as Veronica tried to stop herself from moaning too loudly. She ran her hand through the back of his shaved head and let out of few gasps as she could feel him sliding into her more easily now. In her mind, she always wondered when or what her first time would feel like. Veronica never even imagined it would be in Dauntless Headquarters, with one of their leaders, and also the man she's had a crush on since their first Chemistry class together. But then again, she was happy that it was with Eric and no one else.

She felt him go suddenly faster as she moved her head back and let out a painful but pleasurable groan as she knew it was nearing the end. Veronica felt Eric collapse into her as he nestled into her arms as they both gasped, trying to catch their breaths. Veronica opened her eyes and almost felt like she was snapped out of a spell as she realized what they had just done. She knew that this was forbidden in their society to have any kind of relationship with people in different factions.

"Oh my God" Veronica whispered, "What have we done?"

"It's called sex" Eric tried to joke as he moved to look at her.

"We shouldn't have done this, Eric" Veronica let out.

"It's completely natural, Rikki" Eric rolled his eyes.

"Not for a Dauntless man and an Erudite woman" Veronica pushed him away from her, "I have to go. We shouldn't have done this. Any of this. We have to stay away from each other"

"Please stay" Eric pleaded in a soft tone as he watched her get dressed quickly, "Can we talk at least? I don't want you to leave like this"

"No" Veronica turned and looked at him, "Faction before blood. Remember that?"

"That line doesn't work for what we just did" Eric retorted.

"Because this is natural for your culture" Veronica waved out, "Dauntless people have casual intercourse all the time but not Erudite. I'm marked now! My future husband will know I was not patient enough to wait for him! No doubt he will tell my mother that. She's too smart, Eric. She will find out about us"

"When are you going to stop being so damn afraid of her and start living a life of your own for once, Rikki?" Eric snapped.

"I don't have a choice" Veronica shook her head, "I love you, Eric, but this has to stop now while we still can"

* * *

It has been eight days since Veronica has seen Eric.

Eight days since she has allowed herself to enter into the Dauntless Compound. With every choice she got, she opted her option to staying in Erudite and oversee the labs there while her mother worked on the computers. Her mother thought it was useless to have Veronica stay in Erudite but she grew tired of trying to convince her to come with her each morning. In Erudite, Veronica felt safe and protected away from Eric's eyes.

But now, it seemed to backfire. The Simulation Serum Project has been doing so well that they were prepared to launch their program into full effect.

Which also meant that Veronica will have to see Eric one last time.

Just thinking about seeing him again made her almost lose her mind as she still didn't know what to make of their activity together.

"Veronica!" she jumped to see that her mother was yelling to her, "Honestly, do pay attention. How are you supposed to partake in this project when all you do is stare off into the distance?"

"Sorry" she croaked and blushed.

"Where were we?" Jeanine ignored her daughter.

"Right" Hayes cleared his throat, "We will activate them at approximately 7:15 in the morning. The sooner the better. We can easily find out who the divergent are in Dauntless and have the leaders eliminate them before going off to Abnegation. We shall meet them there and begin our search. The Dauntless do our part, we do ours, and then the Abnegation will be eliminated"

"Eliminated?" Veronica suddenly asked, making all four eyes turn to her.

"From the power of authority" Jeanine clarified.

"That's not what Hayes seemed to be implying" Veronica looked over to the man who let out a gruff, "It sounded like he wants to massacre them"

"We would never do such a thing like that, Veronica" Jeanine said in a soft voice.

"When will the serum be injected into the Dauntless?" Theodore suddenly asked.

Jeanine straightened up and started to give out the information. Veronica glanced around the Erudite table and noticed that they all looked interested in what her mother had to say. Too interested. She could tell that they were hiding something from her. Something that they all agreed on and knew she would object to. Were they planning on killing off the Abnegation? Was that the plan all along?

Veronica had to abmit that she despised the Abnegation but not so much that she would wish any of them dead.

Jeanine called the meeting to an end, making everyone stand up and pile out of the room. Veronica did so slowly as she felt her stomach twinge and twist as she wondered if that were true. Veronica knew she didn't want to but she opened up her conversation box and stared at Eric's code back when he was in Erudite. If he remembered it after all these years, maybe he looks on it occasionally. Like he did when he talked to her the day before Visiting Day.

"Veronica?" a voice made her snap out of her trance.

"Mother!" Veronica closed her template.

"Is everything alright? You look a little sick" Jeanine pondered.

"Just nervous" Veronica smiled, "I just hope that my serum works as I'd hope for tomorrow"

"It will" Jeanine smiled back to her.

"I'm going to head over to the Dining Hall, I'm famished" Veronica let out.

"Care to want some company?" Jeanine asked.

"No… I just want to eat alone right now" Veronica quickly stated.

Her mother studied her for a while before she moved out of the way of the door and she said, "As you wish. I will come to your apartment before we go tomorrow"


	9. Divergents

"Isn't this exciting?" Jeanine whispered.

"Something like that" Veronica mumbled as she couldn't help but focus on the scared Abnegation, controlled Dauntless, and the cocky Erudite's around her, "What time is it?"

"8:55" Hayes muttered.

"How long did you put them to be under the simulation?" Veronica asked her mother.

Jeanine smiled, "We tweaked your program and put it so that we can turn them on or off whenever we want to"

"What?" Veronica whipped her head to look over to her mother, "But that could injure the activity in their brain's"

"One more less faction to worry about" Jeanine shrugged.

"You can't really mean that" Veronica slowly shook her head.

"Why do you all of a sudden care about other factions?" Jeanine looked over to her daughter, "We came out here to find out whether or not the Abnegation council is greedy. We're doing this for the greater good in our community"

"I understand that! But not like this" Veronica waved outside the Abnegation door.

"Do you really think that the Abnegation would let us waltz in here asking for the information we're receiving today?" Jeanine faced her daughter as everyone else went silent, "They would've turned their heads away and report us to Candor as being disloyal to our purpose"

Veronica was about to speak her mind once again but looked over Jeanine's shoulder and suddenly stopped and turned away. Eric came in with Max trailing behind him. She only just looked at Eric for a split second but it felt like her mind flashed back to the last time they saw each other at his apartment. The images made her blush as she felt both disgusted and yearning for his touch yet again. She heard shuffling from behind her and knew that there must've been divergents walking among the programmed. Veronica squeezed her eyes shut as she felt horrible for handing over the information to her mother in the first place.

"Tobias Eaton" Jeanine said, making Veronica whip around and look at him and another girl.

"And you, Beatrice. I thought it was intellect I was sensing in you" Jeanine mentioned.

Veronica stared at Tobias as if she was seeing a new human being. She's seen him a couple of times before they turned 16, mostly when the faction leaders had to have their annual meetings. Tobias always looked withdrawn from everyone more than usual. She once pitied him but seeing this Dauntless man she noticed that he could take care of himself now. Tobias looked over to Veronica and glared bullets into her eyes as she noticed that she was looking at the enemy right now and not a weak Abnegation Divergent.

"Maybe you've not as smart as you think you are" Tobias spat at Jeanine.

"Why are you attacking all these innocent people?" Beatrice questioned.

"Innocent people?" Jeanine replied back in shock, "Abnegation if left unchecked will destroy the faction system. Same can be said of the both of you. Somebody has to stop you, if we don't, peace will be lost"

Veronica looked up and stared at the back of her mother's head as Tobias said exactly what was on Veronica's mind, "It's already been lost, you destroyed it"

"Human nature destroyed it" Jeanine countered back, "Those of us who have the vision to see that are called upon to protect the rest. We will restore the peace. And this time it will last"

"And what if you're wrong?" Beatrice snapped back.

Veronica knew what kind of look her mother was giving Beatrice, she had just received that look not too long ago. Tobias looked over Jeanine's shoulder and was looking around the room until his eyes rested on her. She didn't know what he was planning but felt uneasy under his gaze. Jeanine glanced over her shoulder and nodded to one of her guards.

"Bring him with us" Jeanine announced.

Jeanine clicked her tongue against her teeth as she jammed her finger into Beatrice's arm making even Veronica squirm under the pressure. Veronica opened her mouth to tell her mother to stop but Jeanine already took out her finger and was staring at the blood. Jeanine let out a low moan as if she was sympathizing with the young girl in front of her.

"She's injured" she muttered, "Then her results will be unclear. You can get rid of her"

Jeanine turned around and walked past Veronica over to the table. Veronica turned and was about to walk away and follow her mother as well when a sharp pain came from her arm, making her yelp in pain. Veronica twist around and noticed that Tobias was eye-level with her, his eyes set on fire as she felt tears brim her eyes from his strength. Something moved between them and before she knew it, Tobias was on the floor as it registered in her mind that Eric had come out of nowhere and punched Tobias away from Veronica. Veronica glanced over to her mom who just straightened her jacket and pretended that nothing happened. She looked back up to Eric who seemed to be scanning her eyes for anything.

"Rikki" he started.

Veronica let out a sob as she pushed past him and ran out the door as she left the Divergents, Eric, and her mother even though she knew that no one really cared about her safety all except a man who she was banned to love.


	10. Freedom's Not for Me

When she stepped out of the house she was overwhelmed by the blank-faced Dauntless and the screaming Abnegation. Veronica felt sick to her stomach as she turned and ran down a different path. The place was like a labyrinth to her that she didn't even know how the people that lived there knew which house was theirs. Veronica went into the first open door she could find and sat herself down at the kitchen table. She let out a strangled sob as everything came crashing down onto her as the guilty finally kicked in. The Dauntless were killing because of her simulation.

A scruffling behind her mad Veronica gasp and turn around. Eric was standing by the doorway, his whole body nearly fitting into the frame. Veronica got up from her seat, ran over to him, and wrapped her arms around her body as her strength nearly made him fall out of the house. She heard Eric hiss in pain as his arms enveloped around her. Veronica looked down and noticed that Eric was favoring one leg over the other.

"I'm fine" Eric let out.

Veronica shook her head, "You've been shot in the leg! Let's get you up to the bedroom"

Eric gritted his teeth, "I've had much worse. Can't really think of any right now"

Despite being in a pool of emotions, Veronica found herself giving off a dry laugh as she searched the cabinets until she found a first-aid kit. She turned and held onto Eric as they slowly made their way up the stairs. Veronica could tell that he didn't want to give off too much pain but she didn't care. At least mending his wound will get her mind off of things.

"Climb onto the bed" Veronica said, "I need to see how bad the damage is"

"I'd rather sit on the floor" Eric stated as he hopped over to the wall and sat himself down, "Don't wanna be caught sitting on a Stiff's bed"

"So typical of you to say that. Fine, have it your way" Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Eric asked as she rolled up his pant legs, "I wouldn't worry about that asshole. Your mother probably has something planned for him"

Veronica took her time in answering as she started to assess the wound, she took out a silverware and glanced up to him. Eric tensed up and then nodded, Veronica sighed as she placed it into the bullet wound as Eric yelled out in pain. It only took Veronica two tries before the bullet came out and she was able to clean the bullet wound and prepare for stitching.

"I don't care about what happens to the Divergent, Eric" Veronica told him, "I care that my own mother didn't react to how he could've hurt me. She was just watching like as if I was some sort of experiment or something. If it were my daughter I would've placed myself in front of the threat and not let her get hurt in anyway"

"I don't know what Four would've done to you but I didn't want him to get that far" Eric said with a deeper tone to his voice, "I had to protect you because I knew your mother wouldn't"

Veronica sniffed as she tightened up a knot in the stitch and cut it off. She wrapped his leg with a roll of gauze before she looked up at him.

Veronica leaned in and sank her body back down onto his chest.

"I'm sorry. For everything" Veronica whispered, "I didn't want to push you away"

"I would've done that too if I were as smart as you" Eric said in a gentle voice.

"I missed you" Veronica smiled, "It was so hard trying to stay away from you. I don't care anymore. I want to stay with you even though it might get us killed"

"Are you absolutely sure?" Eric asked.

"I am" Veronica nodded.

"The positive thing about this is that we won't be on the top of her hit list" Eric joked as he kissed the top of her head.

"That's comforting" Veronica responded as outside she heard people screaming.

"Rest now" Eric whispered to her, "It'll all be over soon"

"Wake me up when it is" Veronica said in a light mood as she felt Eric wrap his arm protectively around her as he hummed to drown out the sounds going on outside.

Rikki inhaled deeply as she started to stir awake. She was back in her room with a blue digital clock telling her it was 7:52 in the morning. Rikki wanted to go back to sleep but her body was already working against her. She buried her face deeper into her pillow and inhaled as she smelled her shampoo still trapped in the pillowcase. She was starting to wonder why she was even awake at this hour. Nothing seemed to have disturbed her.

And that's when she heard it. The door to her bathroom opened as Eric came out shirtless as he ran the towel through his hair. He placed it down onto the edge of the bed as he went over to the side where he slept the night before and pulled on a T-shirt he had on the floor. Eric glanced up to the mirror to do a double take when he noticed that Rikki was awake. He smiled slightly as he turned around and reached over to rub her back.

"Good morning" he greeted.

"Why didn't you leave?" Rikki asked, "My mother could've came in with her spare key"

"Since when does she leave her lab nowadays?" Eric rolled his eyes, "How long has it been since you've even seen or spoken to your mother anyways?"

"For four days now… ever since we were all in Abnegation" Rikki said slowly.


	11. Laying Low

Rikki walked over to the kitchen where she found Eric was just finishing making breakfast. There were a lot of things that seemed to surprise her about him recently. Ever since they came back from Abnegation Eric and Rikki have been sneaking around the compound together while they both did their parts of their jobs. Eric looked over to her and walked over to her white table and placed down two plates before planting a kiss on the side of her cheek. Rikki blushed as she sat down with him and couldn't help but wonder if this would've been their life if Eric had decided to stick around. She gave him a sideways glance which turned into a long stare as she noticed that his eyebrows were knit into one line.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or am I going to have to guess?" Rikki started.

Eric glanced up and noticed that she was giving him an inquisitive stare. He sighed as he tried his best to cover himself up on his facial expression but he knew Rikki was too smart for that. He also knew that she wouldn't let him leave this apartment without telling her what was bothering him. Eric sighed as he shook his head. Mind as well tell her now.

"Some Dauntless soldiers believe they found something in one of the Stiff's houses" Eric told the truth.

"They want you there" Rikki said with a flat tone, "I thought we were supposed to leave them alone after the attack"

"It was just orders I'm going to follow" Eric responded, "We both agreed that we would keep our mouths shut and just do the work that our leaders want us to do. They want to leave here in 30 minutes. I'll have to get a head's start over to my guest room before Max even wakes up"

"I know" Rikki rolled her eyes as she picked up her mug, "I just feel like I'm even more in the dark now. My mother refuses to show her face to me anymore"

She glanced over to the view of the city outside of her apartment as she felt Eric hold onto her hand. As much as she didn't like to be involved in destruction such as this, she couldn't help but want to see her mother again. Rikki turned and glanced back at Eric who gave her a small smile. He leaned in and gently placed his lips on top of hers as he slowly kissed her, taking his time.

"You should go to her then" Eric said, "Make it known that you want her as a mother and not a peer. She has to remember that you're her daughter and not just some Erudite she can push around"

* * *

The ding of the elevator doors sound lightly as the white doors opened to reveal the simulation room. Most of the time the Erudite used this room for when their initiates were going through the serum testing but now Jeanine is using it for something else. Jeanine glanced up and gave a cold stare as Rikki entered the room.

"You came here to apologize?" Jeanine questioned, "I hope you realize that you humiliated not only yourself but my power over you. How can a leader rule when she can't even control her own daughter?"

"I didn't mean for that to happen" Rikki said in a small voice.

"No, you didn't" Jeanine mumbled as she continued to work on her template.

Rikki knew that what she felt was right but she couldn't let her mother know that. She walked over to her and placed her hand on her wrist, making her mother stare at her daughter, "I will never misjudge your leadership ever again"

"Then I guess we can get back to business again" Jeanine smiled but this time, Rikki wasn't fooled.


	12. In Control

Hayes gruffed, "What is she doing here? She clearly showed her maturity of things a couple of days ago"

"Silence! She's still part of the council. Also, I will not have you speaking about my daughter in such manners like that" Jeanine responded.

"My apologies" Hayes mumbled as Rikki sat down in her normal seat.

"Now, where were we?" Jeanine asked the council.

"We investigated the box that Max gave to us not 24 hours ago and found something rather peculiar about it" Theodore explained.

"Continue" Jeanine provoked.

"There is a message about the Divergents inside the box but in order to open it, a Divergent must do this" Elba stated.

"Well, that proves to be a slight problem" Jeanine mumbled.

"Maybe not"

"Veronica?"

"We can create a device that shows whose Divergent and who isn't"

"That's impossible!"

Rikki turned and glared at Hayes as if to challenge him in any sort of way. She started to argue her point across but each time, Hayes would counter it out. Elba seemed to side mostly with him but maybe that had something to do with her being an old family friend of his. Theodore seemed to be giving it a slight thought as he only asked questions about what to use for it to work rather than saying it wouldn't for the longest time. Rikki almost forgot that she was supposed to be expressing her idea to the Head of Erudite but Jeanine seemed to only sit back and watch the scene unfold in front of her. No one at the table seemed to have noticed Jeanine until she stood up from her spot as she always does to call the meeting to silence.

Rikki's eyes met her mother's for a split moment as she realized how impressed she was of her. Suddenly, a twist came from deep within her stomach. She hadn't seen that look since the day she introduced her different kind of serum in order to control the Dauntless. Rikki wondered if her mother was going to warp her design once more. Which could only mean that the death toll will be higher than 82 bodies as it seemed to be today.

"I believe that is an excellent idea" Jeanine smiled.

"When should we start?" Theodore asked.

"Veronica?" Jeanine asked.

Rikki glanced up to her mother in surprise as the other three seem to be staring between the two Matthews at the table. Never in her life has Jeanine suggested someone to act on a plan, especially something as important as this. Rikki felt her lips run dry as she tried her best not to lick them in front of everyone in the council. Rikki cleared her throat as she sat up straighter.

"Immediately" Rikki answered, "I want only the fastest and most seasoned engineers to do this task"

"Your device is showing great results" Jeanine complimented, "I'm very pleased"

"Let's just hope that the Divergents give just as much promise" Rikki said, "When are you going to test them?"

"I'm already on test subject 7" Jeanine informed, "It's been frustrating"

Rikki did her best not to tense up as she noticed her mother staring at her while they stood on the balcony. Since Jeanine's eyes were on her daughter's face, she didn't see Rikki's hands tighten on the silver bars of the railing. She looked back to her mother and gave her a pretend inquisitive look as she dreaded asking the next question.

Rikki didn't want to know but the more she asked questions in a light manner, the more her mother will think she isn't defying her. Jeanine was smart and knew when Rikki was either judging her or curious about the project.

"What happened to the failed projects?" Rikki asked, "Did you let them go?"

Jeanine scoffed, "Oh no, dear, they died while trying to open the box"

Rikki did a sharp intake of air as she meant it as being surprised but luckily for her it sounded like a hiss of frustration.

"Do you think anyone can open it?" Rikki questioned.

"The box was made for a reason, the message is worth dying for" Jeanine responded.

"I couldn't agree with you more" Rikki said sarcastically, "We need to protect it from people who want to use it as a weapon"

"Good evening, ladies" a voice said from behind them.

Rikki turned around and noticed Eric was standing within the office room. His hands were behind his back as he tried to look as formal as possible. His eyes only skirt in her direction for a moment but it felt like they lingered on her forever. Rikki had to fight every fiber within her body to run over to him and embrace him in a tight hug. She hasn't seen him in four days as he was doing nothing but searching Abnegation and Amity for Divergent rebels. From the thwarted look on his face, she could tell he had news to share.

Jeanine must've noticed it as well as she walked into the office and resumed her seat in her chair. Rikki inhaled sharply as she walked in and closed the sliding door behind her. She looked up to Eric's eyes but it seemed like he was refusing to look at her. He does it so well sometimes that she feels like he's doing it because he really doesn't know her. Jeanine sat up straighter as she was waiting for bad news.

"Mission report" Jeanine told him, "What happened?"

"We found Tobias Eaton, Caleb and Beatrice Prior" Eric mentioned.

"Are they here?" Jeanine questioned.

Eric let out a sigh, "They escaped on an Amity train. It was heading into the city. We have reason to believe they were making their way over to Candor Headquarters"

"They could've jumped off anytime and could be crawling around the city right now" Jeanine got up and looked out the window.

"We'll find them" Eric said through gritted teeth.

"I want them dead" Jeanine said in a dark tone.

"They're both Divergents, we might as well test them to see if they can open the message, once we find them, bring them back here" Rikki quickly ordered.

Jeanine was quiet for a moment before she commanded, "Do as she says"


	13. Praying for Rain

"You just had to open your mouth" Eric sighed, "Typical of you"

"Excuse me?" Rikki looked up to him, "Where did this come from?"

"Sparing the lives of those two Stiffs" Eric mumbled, "The same two Stiffs who both shot me and grabbed you"

"My mom was going to have you go out and take care of them" Rikki said in a low voice.

"So what if I did" Eric hissed under his breath.

"They are Divergents, they think in more ways than one" Rikki reminded him.

"I could take them" Eric chewed on his food, "A bullet can kill many things"

Rikki nodded down to his foot, "I see you haven't forgotten. Good, I don't have to remind you what that bitch did"

"Damn" Eric looked up from his food and gave her a surprised look.

"What?" Rikki questioned, "You don't think I'm upset about it too?"

"No, it's not that… you cursed" Eric smiled.

"Great, you're rubbing off on me" Rikki rolled her eyes.

"That's not the only thing that's been rubbing off on you lately" Eric said in a flirty way.

Rikki blushed as she moved her foot toward his ankle and gently caressed it up and down. Eric gave her a suggestive look. Rikki was about to nod over to the hallway in hinting that they will leave the busy cafeteria. Suddenly, food dropped down next to her, making Rikki jump and move her foot away from his leg. A Dauntless leader named Jai sat down next to them as he sighed and took out some of his utensils. Not soon after that, Rikki and Eric were nearly surrounded by both Dauntless and Erudite representators.

"Good evening, everyone" Rikki said through gritted teeth.

"How did you manage to do it?" Hayes demanded.

"Hayes, now is not the time" Elba scolded.

"No, I'm curious on how she manipulated her mother like that" Hayes snapped back, "Your mother had a few choice words about you while you were absent these past couple of days"

Eric huffed under his breath as he opened his mouth to stand up for his girlfriend. Rikki quickly kicked him to make sure that he wouldn't say anything. The force of the kick didn't make Eric flinch but he got the message as he turned to one of his members and started talking among them. Rikki looked back to Hayes who seems to be glaring bullets into her skull. Rikki gave a mocking laugh as she noticed how much it bothered Hayes to have her around.

"What's the matter, Hayes?" Rikki challenged.

"Are you trying to refer to something?" Hayes demanded.

"It's just amusing how you are so worked up over an Erudite who is 20 years younger than you" Rikki replied back, "Are you afraid she's noticing your incapabilities of continuing as a representative?"

"What are you referring to?" Hayes snapped making everyone as the table watch the exchange.

"Your age" Rikki said slowly, "You haven't really put in any ideas lately on this project and always get stuck with the job of overseeing things rather than the main task at hand. Has your intelligence been dwindling?"

"I am 47 years old" Hayes slammed his hand down on the table.

Rikki stood up and straightened out her jacket, "I rest my case. I shall take my leave. My mother is expecting me to write a full report on my device that I built with the help of Elba and Theodore. You should get some rest, Hayes, and recover your strength"

Rikki paced in her room as she brought her glass of wine up to her lips. She felt accomplished in the way that she stood up to Hayes. She even noticed the Dauntless leaders seemed to be a little bit surprised when she stuck up for herself. That only gave more fuel to her fire as she felt more alive and powerful when she left that old bag of a man sitting there dumbfounded.

From the corner of her eye, she saw movement outside of her window as the figure pushed her window open. Eric lifted himself up gracefully as he flipped into the room and closed the window behind him.

Eric looked down to the glass of wine sitting on her dresser, "Expecting someone? Shall I take my leave?"

"Shut up" Rikki rolled her eyes as she picked up the extra one, "Accept it or I will have it"

"I am a bit thirsty" Eric said as he took the glass.

"So how was it?" Rikki sat down onto her couch.

Eric joined her as she placed her feet on top of his lap, "You definitely got my people to notice you for your worth"

"What about mine?" Rikki asked.

"Hayes wanted to talk to your mother about your attitude" Eric shrugged.

"And knowing him, he is already talking to my mother right now" Rikki groaned.

"Not exactly" Eric said in a sing-song voice.

"What are you implying?" Rikki asked.

Eric quickly brought his glass to his mouth and started to drink. Rikki furrowed her eyebrows at him as he looked away from her. She nudged her foot into his side making him nearly spit up his drink. He looked over to her and gave her a glare as she stared back at him.

"I might've threatened him when he was alone" Eric finally said.

"Why would you do that?" Rikki let out.

"Because it was uncalled for what he did to you in public!" Eric yelled out, "Did you honestly think I would let him just walk away like that after he spoke like that to my girlfriend?"

"Yes, Eric" Rikki got up and paced the room, "Because out there I am not your girlfriend, I'm just another Erudite Leader talking to a Dauntless Leader. That's what we agreed upon"

"This again" Eric got up too, "Why am I not so surprised that it comes down to this"

"What are you talking about?" Rikki glared at him.

"You're just embarrassed of our relationship just say it already" Eric said slowly.

"How dare you" Rikki walked up to him until she was so close that her chin was nearly touching his chest, "It is you that gives me strength. I've never felt so much more alive than I am with you and I don't regret anything that we've done"

"You're saying that but your actions say differently" Eric moved toward the front door, "I'll let myself out the proper way this time"

"Go ahead, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not afraid of them anymore" Rikki shouted after his back.

Eric didn't listen to her, or even look back as he opened up the door and walked out of her room, leaving the door wide open for her to come over and close it herself.


	14. Powerful Minds

Rikki's grudge over the fight stayed with her well into the next day when the meeting was taking place. Erudite was on one side and Dauntless the other. Her jaw was clenched so tight that she was sure her teeth would fall out soon. Rikki's arms were wrapped tightly around her body as she only looked at her template and her mother as she refused to look around the room. Eric had placed himself on the farthest side of the table from her and refused to look at her as well. Clearly he was just as angry as she was.

"We need more Divergents" Jeanine was saying, "We were mistaken on how some Divergences were stronger than others"

Rikki felt sick once more as she could read between her mother's lines. All 15 people that they took from Amity all died trying to open the box. She was starting to think that the message inside wasn't even really worth the trouble anymore. Why go through all of this trouble just to get more people killed? This isn't what Erudite was first based on.

Max grunted, "We already cleared Amity. Abnegation went into hiding and all the others were at Amity when we arrived. You want us to try the factionless?"

Rikki glanced over to her mother as she let out a noticeable shudder. Jeanine has never liked nor pitied the factionless. She often avoided them at all cost when she could. Rikki had to try her best to hide her smile as her mother immediately seemed annoyed with that question.

"There is still one more faction we haven't tried. The Candor still haven't been cleared yet" Jeanine said slowly.

"Candor?" Max questioned, "Why them? I thought you wanted to avoid them"

"That was until I had run out of subjects" Jeanine said in a more firmer tone, "We will give you a sleeping serum that will only last 25 minutes along with something else that we've discussed"

"How many do you want?" Max asked but through gritted teeth.

"As many as you can give me" Jeanine answered.

Max and Jeanine stared at each other for a while before he finally got up, making the rest of Dauntless rise. Rikki glanced up to Eric who was talking to another Dauntless woman. She nodded and was listening as he gave her commands.

Max clamped onto Eric's shoulder, making him turn around as he started to talk strategies. They were already discussing how to get inside the Candor compound.

Eric glanced over to Rikki, making her heart skip a beat as she quickly looked away as he left the room.

"Take these to the truck" Elba demanded.

Rikki quickly placed her clipboard to her chest as she backed away from two Dauntless soldiers boarding up their mobile. Rikki glanced around at the barrels upon barrels of equipment that they were taking with them. It looked almost like as if they were getting ready to take down the whole faction. A shudder ran through her as she remembered what happened last time at Abnegation. Rikki turned around and tried to pry her way out of the loading zone and hopefully find another place to be present at. She joined Elba as she was talking to another Dauntless leader.

Elba glanced over to Rikki in an irritated way as she said in a slower pace how to use the Sleeping Serum. The woman as she's come to known as Jeanette, kept glancing from the ball back to Elba as she remained clueless to how to activate it. Rikki couldn't help but giggle a little as she turned and decided to leave Elba with her task, not wanting to be caught in that sort of situation. Rikki went inside and glanced over to the lab and noticed one of her friend's was working on one of the projects at hand. When they caught each other's eye, he quickly ducked away and carried his tray back to his station.

"You'll get used to it" A male voice said in front of her.

"I don't think I ever will. At first I thought that he would be happy for me" Rikki shrugged, "He's intimidated by me now. And he's not alone"

"Power makes people afraid of the people who wield it" Theodore told her.

"Sometimes I fear of the power that's in me so I can relate to them half of the time" Rikki mumbled.

"You're the new representative" Theodore smiled, "The power will be overwhelming at first"

"How long did it take for you to get used to it?" Rikki asked.

Theodore thought for a while before he answered, "8 months, give or take. That was before your mother came into the ultimate power"

"Did she give you advice or something?" Rikki pursued.

"Not entirely" Theodore nodded to the Dauntless outside, "Her ideas are more pure than our last leader"

"And showed more results" Rikki mumbled.

"Exactly" Theodore let out, "Your mother has done more for this faction than anyone else has in our history. How do you feel about it? Knowing that your mother's genes and intelligence are swimming through you right now"

"I never thought of it that way" Rikki squirmed a little.

"You should be happy. People will want you as our leader when she retires" Theodore said in a hushed whisper.

Rikki didn't believe that one bit. She knew that Erudite chooses by who was the most intelligent. She was surprised at how her rankings got her to be one of the representatives but to be an actual leader, she didn't believe it. Rikki would even turn it down if that option were open to her.

"Thankfully that days not tomorrow" Rikki joked.

"Lucky for your mother" Theodore chuckled, "I know that you would have big steps to fill after what your mother has done"

"It might be even you" Rikki mentioned, "I still have a lot to learn but you are already at your peak"

"Thank you for the vote of confidence. Sadly, my age is getting higher and higher which means memory loss will be around the corner" Theodore said.

"Some people don't get it; it's a 50/50 chance" Rikki responded as she tried to be uplifting.

"I would be one of the unfortunate so I will embrace my knowledge while I still have it" Theodore walked away and called over his shoulder, "You're own mind will surprise you when you least expect it"


	15. Last Straw

"It's 11:00. What is she doing up there?" Rikki checked her watch, "My mother doesn't come down to eat anymore"

"She has one of the Erudite initiates deliver her meals" Elba responded, "She's a very dedicated woman"

Rikki straightened up, "I just thought that she would want to come down and report her findings. There are a bunch of Erudite's who would love to know what she's doing at the top of the tower. Also, she has a daughter who would like to see her mother outside of the lab every once and a while"

"Your mother is working on some ground-breaking research and doesn't have time to tuck her 24 year-old daughter into bed" Hayes said from the end of the table.

"Do I have to separate you two _again?"_ Elba looked up from her book.

"How can this faction look to us as idealists if you two constantly bicker to each other" Theodore scolded in a hushed whisper.

Rikki sighed as she glanced over to the older member who grumbled under his breath as he flipped through the newspaper. She noticed that Elba and Theodore were waiting for an answer from one of them so Rikki submitted with a gentle smile and a nod. Even though it was close to midnight, the place seemed nearly 75% full with Erudites. Most of these people don't sleep due to the fact of the constant addition of learning new materials. Rikki glanced down to her watch once more as this time she wondered what is going on with the Dauntless this time. She couldn't help but worry that Eric could be walking into a trap with a bunch of angry Dauntless members who realized they were under a SIM against their own will.

"The Dauntless should be back by now" Rikki mumbled.

"I'd be surprised if they come back at all" Theodore let out in a laugh.

"What are you talking about?" Rikki turned her attention to the man sitting next to her.

"Do you honestly believe that they will shoot everyone to sleep in Candor, find the Divergents, and get out before the simulation is over?" Theodore questioned her.

"They weren't meant to come back at all" Elba said in a hushed whisper.

Rikki looked over to her colleagues and noticed that they didn't seem phased at all by this step; it has been long since planned. Rikki felt her heart racing as she remembered the Dauntless that went; the Dauntless leaders and the ones most loyal to them and have been giving Erudite a hard time. She looked around the room and noticed that the ones that were in the room were conversing with Erudites or reading. These were the ones that Jeanine would've let live. Rikki felt her breathing go shallow as she realized that she's eliminating Eric because she knows he can outsmart her and outgun her.

"Good riddance" Rikki said in a dark tone as she tried her best not to make her voice shake as she got up and left the table.

* * *

"Do you mind on shedding some light on a particular subject, mother? Did you really send the Dauntless on a suicide mission?" Rikki asked once she was let through Jeanine's private lab, "You wouldn't do such a thing, would you?"

"Only to the ones that threaten my power" Jeanine said in a nonchalant way, "The Leaders would only listen to me for so long before they themselves get greedy. I need the young ones that are faster and stronger but yet know when to take orders instead of defying me. I already have enough trouble on my hands. This is for the greater good"

"Trouble that you started" Rikki could no longer keep it together.

"I beg your pardon" Jeanine turned and faced her daughter as her jaw clenched, "I am not only your Superior but I am also your mother as well. I demand that you take back what you said and mean your apology right now!"

"Do you remember the Erudite Manifesto that you _**swore**_ upon before taking the leadership role?" Rikki took a step toward her mother, "Intelligence is a gift, not a right. It must be wielded not as a weapon but as a tool for the betterment of others"

Jeanine reached out her hand and then slapped Rikki across the face, giving her a sting. Rikki gasped at the feeling as tears sprung her eyes. She cupped her face and looked back to her mother who didn't even seem phased that she did that. Rikki glared at her through a watery vision as the side of her cheek grew hot.

"Do not recite the Manifesto to me like I'm some kind of factionless scum" Jeanine said in a low voice.

"You're doing this for only yourself" Rikki snapped, "You assassinated Abnegation and are doing the same thing to Dauntless. Have you know heart?"

"You only care because of your Dauntless boyfriend" Jeanine rolled her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Rikki took a step backward, "Eric and I are not together"

Jeanine showed a glint of enthusiasm, "Then why did you assume that I was talking about Eric?"

Rikki huffed as she shook her head and turned around back toward the elevator. She felt a strong hand grip onto her and whirl her around. Jeanine was staring straight into her eyes with both anger and desperation.

"You go to Candor, you might as well pack up your bags and move into the Factionless Sectors" Jeanine threatened.

"I never really felt like I belonged here anyways" Rikki spoke the truth.

Rikki moved her hand back, formed a fist and then slammed it into her mother's face. The punch collided with her so hard that Jeanine lost her balance and fell to the floor.

"Goodbye, Jeanine" Rikki said as she walked over to the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed that was when the rush suddenly kicked in. Rikki just punched her mother and leader. Eric was going to be sentenced to death the second he sets foot on Candor ground. Rikki glanced down to her watch as her heartbeat started to race. She had to hurry.

The elevator doors opened the the miles upon miles of solar-paneled cars. Rikki stepped out of the elevator and walked over to one of the first cars and typed in her code. The lights turned on from the inside as a soft click was heard. Rikki opened the door and started the car but sat there for a while.

What was she going to do once she got to Candor?

Will she be able to save Eric or meet his same fate?

Rikki blinked back the fear as she hit reverse and drove out of the Erudite garage as fast as she could before making a left at the exit, straight to Candor.


	16. Breakdown

Rikki stared up at the Candor entrance as she felt fear finally willing her to stop. The glass that held the wall and the doors were shattered and inside she could see people laying on the floor. If she hadn't known about the plan then she would've thought that all of these people were dead.

She glanced up to the building and felt hopeless upon figuring out where Eric will be in the Candor HeadQuarters. Rikki only knew of Jack Kang's office and the meeting room but that was about it. She had no choice but to go in those directions. Rikki shuddered as she ran up the steps and jumped through the door and started to head toward the stairs. She didn't know who will find her first but she certainly hoped it would be someone who recognized her as not the enemy. Rikki felt like the clanking of her shoes were the same as both her heart and breath as she could only imagine what Eric is doing right now.

Suddenly, she heard some sort of painful yell coming in the direction she was heading towards.

She recognized that sound, heard it before in Abnegation. It was Eric's yell when he tried to conceal how much pain he was in when he got shot. Rikki ran as much as she could up the stairs as people started to stir. Rikki burst through the door gasping for air as she ran down the hallway to the Conference Room. That was where she heard the yell come from.

Rikki ran into the room and thrust herself in front of Eric just as Tobias Eaton raised up his gun to fire at Eric's head.

"No!" Eric screamed from behind her, "Four, don't shoot!"

"Stop" Rikki said between gasps as Four backed away from her, stunned, "He was only following orders and didn't know any better. Please, spare his life and I will tell you anything you want to know"

"What?!" a girl said from the side, "He's done too much, he deserves death"

"Rikki, get out of the way" Eric said from behind her.

"No" Rikki stated without looking at him.

"Veronica!" Eric yelled out.

"I am doing the very same thing that you would do to protect Beatrice Prior" Rikki locked eyes with Tobias, "Give us the truth serum and we will stand trial and if found guilty, we will be executed by your hands"

"Four, just kill me and leave her out of this" Eric spoke through Rikki's body.

Four took a long time from looking down to Eric then up to Rikki before turning to the other Dauntless, "Keep Eric locked in a room… we'll give him a trial by truth serum"

"Four?!" Beatrice said from the side, "You can't be serious"

"I know Veronica, she wouldn't say the things she did if it doesn't prove herself right" Tobias said without breaking eye contact with Rikki.

"Thank you" Rikki nodded to him.

The Dauntless members went over to Eric and picked him up by his arms. Rikki did notice that he winced when someone touched his right arm. He looked at Rikki with an unexplained look that she couldn't analyze. She couldn't tell if he was grateful for saving his life or mad that she came alone. Rikki reached out and touched his face, she trailed her thumb across his cheekbone. She thought that Eric would move away to keep up his reputation with his old faction, but instead, he leaned his head into her hand and kissed it before the guards took him away.

Tobias cleared his throat, "Wow"

"What? You didn't think he was capable of love, did you?" Rikki turned to the other man.

"No… I didn't know that you would defy your mother for the love of someone in another faction" Tobias replied.

"I didn't think so as well" Rikki told him, "But my faction had took a toll for the worse and all I wanted was to get out"

Tobias nodded in understanding. She didn't know that the Abnegation kid would actually be mindful of what she had to say. She was curious as to how this man wanted to hear her side of the story so badly that he easily submitted to her negotiations. Rikki had to remember to ask him about it whenever she gets the chance. She looked over to Beatrice who just rolled her eyes and paced on the other side of the room.

Rikki heard thudding footsteps coming to the room and noticed that the Dauntless and the Candor all stopped and stared at Beatrice, Tobias, Rikki, and a dead body not a few feet from her. She wondered how this must look to everyone in the room as some Dauntless looked like they wanted to kill her right there. Jack Kang emerged from the group and looked surprised as he noticed that Rikki was standing in their midst, unarmed and not even in handcuffs. He lift up his hand and waved it out of the room and Rikki obediently followed him over to his office.


	17. Trial of Eric

"Welcome to the trial of Eric, Leader of the Dauntless" Jack Kang announced, "We must ask for your permission to use the truth serum on you"

"Just do it already" Eric growled.

"As you wish" Jack said.

Rikki watched from the front of the crowd as one of the representatives plunged a needle into the back of his neck. Eric didn't even flinch as the liquid slowly went into his body. It took ahold almost immediately as Eric trudged to the center of the room where a black chair sat. He dropped himself into it and sagged down his head, almost as if it were too heavy for him to hold up. Rikki dug her nails into her blue jacket as she fought the urge to run over to Eric and see if he was alright. She glanced across the room and noticed that Beatrice Prior was watching as Rikki tried to contain herself.

"Eric" Mr. Kang began, "We have reason to believe that you followed along with the attack on Abnegation. You were stated as one of the few who didn't get injected. Why is that?"

"Because Jeanine Matthews believed I was loyal to her cause and wanted to massacre the Abnegation and Divergents" Eric said in a monotone.

"Did you realize how much of a threat it would make upon an open war with the other factions, including the factionless?" Jack Kang questioned.

Eric's voice shook, "I didn't care after that"

"Meaning what exactly?" Jack Kang pressured, "Your mind changed?"

"My mind changed the second I began seeing Veronica Matthews secretly" Eric stated, "It wasn't about attacking others that made me go further into the project but it was to protect her from harm"

"What kind of harm?" Jack asked.

"Assassination" Eric gasped, "Because we had sexual intercourse behind her mother's back and if she ever found out… she would've done worse to her daughter than she would ever have done to any divergents that are within these walls"

Rikki felt heat rise to her upper body as everyone, even Jack Kang looked over to her before he said, "Thank you for your Candor"

"Bring Eric back to his room" Tori, the new leader, stated, "We will discuss his punishment later. Those of you on the council, with me! As for you, Miss Matthews? You're free to go"

* * *

Rikki sat down on one of the many benches that filled up an empty courtroom. It was the only one that she could find unlocked. Rikki let out a shaky breath and bent over as she clutched onto the sides of the seat as tears worked its way back to her vision. She had no idea that Eric didn't have any interest in the project anymore. He never once mentioned that to her but followed her mother's orders to almost death.

"I had no idea he was capable of that" a voice said, making Rikki jump and stand up from her seat, "I've only known Eric to want to torture people in the worst ways imaginable"

"I could say the same for you" Rikki said in a shaky breath.

"You've known me since we were kids, Veronica" Tobias walked over to her.

"We've been crammed into the same room while our parents were in meetings, doesn't really count as knowing each other" Rikki sat down.

"It's as close as Abnegation gets to calling someone knowing them actually" Tobias sat down but left space between them, "I thought you would be off studying for your next test or something"

"And I thought you would be jumping off the Hub right about now" Rikki rolled her eyes.

"I guess we really don't know each other then" Tobias quirked.

"Why did you give in so easily?" Rikki looked over to him, "You tried to hurt me when we were in the Abnegation house. Now in Candor, you wanted to hear my side of the story to the point that you argued with your girlfriend"

"I wasn't trying to hurt you in Abnegation" Tobias shook his head, "I saw something in you that day. You didn't have the same face as your other representatives"

"You grabbed my arm really hard" Rikki said.

"Sorry" Tobias slightly shrugged, "I was desperate and wanted you to convince your mother on not killing Tris. You looked powerless at the moment but I knew you. If anyone who could tear down Jeanine's walls it was her own daughter"

"I don't have any power over her" Rikki scoffed as she wiped a tear out of her eye, "She had power over me for the longest time. What will happen to me once the Dauntless are make a decision upon Eric?"

"I don't know" Tobias said as his words echoed around them.


	18. Conclusion

"Veronica Matthews, Jack Kang wishes to see you" a male voice called the next day.

"Thank you" Rikki got up to follow him, "May I ask what this is about? Was it my mother? Has she asked for me?"

"I do not know" the man said, "Jack would rather have himself tell you the message and not I"

"Of course he would" Rikki mumbled as they walked up to the closed doors of Jack Kang's office.

"I really do hope the Dauntless don't plan on executing you" he said as he knocked on the door and left down the hallway.

"What?!" Rikki called after him, "What does that mean? I was questioned for death?"

"Miss Matthews" a woman opened the door and smiled to her.

"Hi" Rikki said nervously as she walked into the room where she noticed Tori and Jack Kang were talking amongst themselves.

"Did you have a good night's rest?" Jack Kang asked her.

"Not really" Rikki played with her fingers, "Why was I summoned here"

"Your mother called" Tori answered, "She wants us to hand over the Divergent, the prisoners and the Erudite traitor. Didn't even bother to say your name or address that you were her daughter"

"I guess I can understand" Rikki nodded.

"You are aware that your mother wants you dead" Jack said, "I highly doubt she will banish you into factionless territory"

"I knew she was going to plan on killing me the moment I punched her across her face" Rikki said with a shaky voice.

"You punched your mother?" Tori smiled to Jack, "I like her. Do we really have to do this?"

"It is for the safety of not only her but everyone in my faction and including yours" Jack told her, "You only started to like her after she hit her mother"

"Very well. What's taking the other's so long anyways?" Tori tapped her fingers.

"What's going on?" Rikki asked.

"Rikki" a voice came behind her.

"Eric!" Rikki gasped as she ran over to Eric and hugged him, "I was so worried about you"

"Don't be" he whispered and that's when she noticed that his arms were still bound.

"What are you doing here?" Rikki looked up into his eyes.

Eric looked above her head, "What's going on?"

"We just informed Veronica Matthews that her mother has requested to have not only her daughter handed over but also the divergents and the prisoners held captive here" Jack Kang began, "We are fully aware of what Jeanine intends to do with Miss Matthews"

"But you will hand us over nonetheless" Rikki let out.

"Now who ever said anything about that?" Tori teased, making Rikki look over to the woman.

"You're not going to hand us over?" Eric questioned, "You are aware of what she's like right? She is a stubborn little shit who will not take no for an answer"

"Mind your manners! This is not only an Erudite Leader you are taking about but I believe your girlfriend's mother as well" Jack Kang took a step toward the couple.

"It doesn't matter" Rikki shook her head, "My mother died the day my father passed away"

Rikki remembered how much her mother cried the moment her father was found unresponsive. She hated technology for a while, claiming that it didn't help her in achieving her goal in finding a cure for her husband. What Rikki remembered the most was on her father's burial day, her mother was perfectly numb. She didn't react to anyone's failed comforts but just stared off into space and mumbled a few intelligent words. Rikki still has reason to believe that her mother is still in her state of shock, not wanting to participate in the world but to play God instead. Rikki took in a shaky breath as she wondered if anyone else has noticed that decline besides her own daughter.

"We've come to terms on what to do with you two" Tori continued.

"What? Execution?" Eric challenged.

Eric raised his eyebrow as if to make Tori fight back. Rikki stiffened at the thought of a gun pointed to her head. She turned around and smacked Eric on the chest and glared at him. Eric only just looked down to her as she turned back around to look at the two leaders. Her eyes were just as pleading as a dog who is looking to have a bite out of their owner's food.

"Not exactly. Eric and Veronica, you are to be exiled to beyond the fence" Jack stated.

"What?!" Rikki nearly yelled out.

Exiled? That was their punishment? Rikki didn't want to die but she was coming to terms with that path but exiled? No one has ever left the city because of a crime.

"Don't take this the wrong way" Tori told them, "But it's for your safety"

"Why would you care about our safety? What did we ever do to deserve another chance?" Eric asked.

"Your confession to staying in the project because for the love of Miss Matthews seemed to not only sway some people in my faction but in Miss Wu's as well" Jack explained, "Veronica showed that she was willing to defy her mother's orders in order to do the same for you as well. We knew that this will infuriate Jeanine Matthews but right now she needs to realize how much she's angered the rest of us"

"So you're willing to let us go?" Rikki asked slowly.

"Unless you want to die at the hands of your own mother?" Tori teased once more.

"I'll take exile for 500, please?" Eric turned to Rikki, "Let's get the hell out of here"

Rikki looked back over to Jack Kang, "Thank you so much"

"I appreciate your gratitude" Jack bowed his head.

"We will give you a week's supply of food and clothing" Tori concluded.

"We will accept that" Rikki said before Eric could bargain, "When are we expected to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning" Jack said.

"Great, can't wait to get out of this shithole" Eric said, making Rikki roll her eyes at Eric's need to insult everything.


	19. I Belong

"You have everything boarded up, I presume" Jack Kang asked the next day.

"Everything that you gave us" Eric mumbled.

"Thank you, for everything" Rikki said quickly.

"I hope that you will find a safe living outside the wall" Tori said and for once, she actually looked like she meant what she said.

"I'm actually excited about venturing outside the city" Eric said with a smile.

"And slightly nervous" Rikki mumbled.

"Take good care of her, you hear?" Tori told Eric.

"I always have been from day one" Eric wrapped his arm around her waist, "I mind as well say something nice as one of my last words here so don't take it lightly; I hope that you guys get out of this mess alive and all this that Erudite has done will be blown over"

"But we all know that's not going to happen" Tori admitted.

"We will do the best we can" Jack Kang promised, "We will stick together and get Jeanine out of power"

Rikki glanced over to the Merciless Mart and noticed the crowd that has gathered outside the entrance and at the windows. Tris and Tobias are at the front, Rikki glanced back over to the two leaders, "Tell my mother that I left the city, she won't like that but it will please me to know that she's aware that I am out of her grasps"

"I will gladly deliver that message for you" Tori said with a smile.

"You ready to go?" Eric nudged her.

Rikki smiled as she looked up to Eric, "Yes. I think it's time to go somewhere where we will be free to make our own choices for once"

Once they climbed in and started up the car, Eric shifted the gear and muttered, "Here we go"

Rikki glanced in the rearview mirror and watched as the Candor Headquarters became smaller and smaller. The people staring at the truck disappeared first before the building. Jack Kang had notified Johanna and told her about Eric and Rikki being exiled. She didn't think that Johanna would agree with him due to Candor and Amity being a rival faction but she was surprised when Johanna agreed to open up the gates for them.

"Rikki, I have to tell you something" Eric snapped Rikki out of her train of thought, "I'm sorry"

"For what?" Rikki questioned.

"You wouldn't have faced exile if you weren't involved with me" Eric answered.

"No. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way" Rikki shook her head.

"You wouldn't have defied your mother if it weren't for me" Eric brought up, "You would've been safe in your Erudite home if I hadn't have come back into your life. Your mother wouldn't have wanted you dead"

"I would've been safe but unhappy" Rikki looked over to him, "Did you know that I was thinking about transferring out of Erudite? I was smart enough to get me by in Erudite but I wasn't happy. I wanted to join another faction so badly but I was afraid for what it would look like on my mother's reputation"

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Eric furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over to her.

"Because I thought that you were going to stay with me" Rikki answered honestly.

Eric reached over and placed his big hand on top of her legs. Rikki wrapped her small hands around his and gave them a squeeze as he folded his hands into hers. They glanced to each other as Eric gave her a smile, a rare sight to see on a Dauntless Leader.

"Funny how fate weaves it's way around things" Eric finally said.

"Now I'm with you whether I like it or not" Rikki let out a laugh, "No more books to study off of, no more initiates to follow, and certainly no more people to feel pressured over. We can make our own faction outside the wall. Or maybe we'll find out there are people beyond the wall. I wonder if they know what's going on here"

"We'll find out very soon" Eric said in a low voice.

Eric stopped the car just in front of the fence where Johanna and four others were standing by the gate. Rikki recognized them as the five representatives since Amity didn't believe in leaders. Johnna turned and gave a signal to which the others typed in a code as the gates opened to reveal a barren wasteland. Rikki didn't care how it looked on the otherside to anyone else, she felt like this was freedom to her. Rikki felt a squeeze in her hand and looked over to Eric who was staring at her. Rikki leaned over and gave Eric a slow kiss, their last kiss within the wall before Eric pushed on the pedal and drove out of the fence and to God knows what that waits for the two fugitives.


	20. Soundtrack

_**Love the Fall- Michael Paynter**_

 _ **Cold- Michael Paynter**_

 _ **Ready to Fly- Ariel Rivera & Amy Pearson**_

 _ **Freedom's Not for Me- Michael Paynter**_

 _ **Praying for Rain- Michael Paynter**_

 _ **Breakdown- Shannon Noll**_

 _ **I Belong- Candice Alley**_

 _ **The Walk- The Collective**_

 _ **San Francisco- Stu Larsen**_

 _ **Absolutely Everybody- Vanessa Amorosi**_

 _ **Princess- Wes Carr**_

 _ **Are You Alive- Michael Paynter**_


End file.
